1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for reproducing audio/video (AV) data in interactive mode, and an information storage medium therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Interactive DVDs that can be reproduced in an interactive mode using a conventional personal computer (PC). An interactive DVD refers to a DVD in which interactive data is recoded in addition to recorded DVD-Video data. Interactive DVDs are reproduced in either of two modes. One mode is a video mode in which only DVD-Video data is reproduced, such as with an ordinary DVD. The other mode is an interactive mode in which DVD-Video data is reproduced together with a markup document and is displayed through a display window of the markup document. If the interactive mode is selected by a user, a web browser embedded in the PC parses and displays a markup document recorded on the interactive DVD. In the display window defined by the markup document, DVD-Video data selected by the user is displayed.
For example, if the DVD-Video data is a film, the film is reproduced in the display window of the markup document and in the remaining part the script, synopsis, photos of actors, and other related additional information of the film can be displayed. Additional information is also displayed in synchronism with a title (AV data). For example, when an actor is displayed on an AV screen, interactive data containing career information on the actor is reproduced and displayed.
Interactive data includes markup documents written in markup languages, script codes manufactured using files inside the markup documents or separate files and linked to the markup documents, audio files, animation files, and image files linked to the markup documents and reproduced together with the markup documents. In order to reflect a user's demands, a variety of functions can be added to a user interface in interactive mode. Thus, when there is a reproducing apparatus for supporting the interactive mode, the range of interactive data that is needed in reproducing AV data in the interactive mode in each reproducing apparatus can be varied.